Part Robot, Part Gamer, Part DJ – All Geek

Archive for April, 2011

I’m not hanging out at the ClanBOB forums anymore because I got tired of it being me vs whoever when it came to discussions that were supposedly open-minded and fair. I had my opinions, and they had theirs, but instead of going, “Hey, let’s talk about this like civilized people,” it was, “The majoirty of us like A and you hate A and like B. So we’ll jump on you as a whole if you criticize A and then argue with someone else about that.”

The other thing was I got tired of Inferno’s elitism. Hey, I liked some of the BOBs – you, Dex, Desp, Agent, Gharbad, Esuna, Xae, Mim, etc. It’s just not conductive to my interests to hang out there anymore. I found another forum to hang out with. A forum that is a little more honest and a little less neurotic in terms of explosive subjects.

And it’s free of Inferno. I could tolerate just about anyone – even uber-religious, Conservative Steltek – save Inferno. And Keigo. They can go fuck themselves and each other honestly. Since they like to kiss each other’s asses on IRC and in PMs and in games and whatever. LOL

Do tell those who ask from ClanBOB that I was friends with that I hope they are doing well and that I hope they stay well. Say hi for me.

I’ve been having some pretty philosophical discussions with Ratfist creator Doug TenNapel. Some of them include:

– The role of science and religion in society.
– Etymology of the English language.
– Ultra-Cons vs regular moderate Conservatives.
– Climate change.
– What angels would really look like and why.
– Optimism vs realism.

Granted, this is mostly in the comments below the comic, with a dozen other people. But Doug and the readers are probably some of the more engaging people I’ve ever discussed anything with. You can tell that half of this crowd is actually intellectual. And he actually responds to most conversations, taking time to actually contribute personally.

Which is the sign of a great artist. Those who take time to integrate themselves with their readers and actively participate usually succeed where other comic people fail. Granted, he’s a bit of a Conservative dick argumentative person, but that’s nothing new or unusual. XD

It’s been confirmed – Blood and Chrome will be about young William Adama during the later years of the first Cylon Wars. So we’ll get to see the big bad toasters that are wickedly dangerous fighting in large armies and the first vipers and battlestars doing their thing.

As long as they keep the religious angel thing out of this one, I’ll be gloriously happy. Otherwise, meh. Stop getting your religion in my peanut butter.

I’m not the only one who suspected David Petreaus’s political maneuvering. I think his reassignment as Director of the CIA is one way of removing him from trying to run as President farther down the line. The civilian hatred for the CIA coupled with the dramatic failures that are presently bogging the CIA will bring a lot of criticism to Petreaus, and possibly weaken him as any sort of Presidential candidate down the line.

And that’s all I got. A conspiracy for keeping him out of the Presidency. Because nothing else makes any sense whatsoever. I can’t come up with a reason for putting the present failure of a CIA Director in charge of the Pentagon, and putting the present failure of a commanding officer in Afghanistan in the charge of the CIA.

Insanity.

Also, Trump got Trumped when the President revealed his long-form birth certificate today. I mean, he tried to turn it into, “I ARE SO GUD FOR I GOTTED THIS DUN,” but really looks like, “Oh shit, uh, hmmm.” I’m pretty sure the racist birther movement is quite angry and upset that their fake reason for hating an African America President was finally proven a HOAX.

I once again had to step up and show my superior management skills (or SMS – pronounced sims by my VP) by looking into an incident that happened late yesterday/early this morning. Once again, our manager is not here – either sick or taking care of his sick wife – leaving me and the other Roger to fill in. I took the initiative on this one, since I hate having loose ends.

As Provisioning Engineers, we either turn-up new Internet connections or disconnect old Internet connections to the ATT cloud. That’s 80% of my job now – creating and deleting interfaces, ordering new circuits and directing on-site techs on how to ensure the client is up. I probably spend more time on the phone with the client than doing anything else. That’s our jobs, really.

We can cause issues, but one particular issue is considered bad bad bad. The Disconnect in Error, or DIE for short. That’s when we accidentally disconnect a client from the Internet without their official approval or a record to do so. This is why we double and triple check orders and the interfaces. If they are up, ping-able and passing traffic, we ask the Service Consultant or Specialist to confirm with the client. We also push it out to a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to make sure we’re doing it right.

Well, one of the PE’s had a DIE. Luckily, he kept all his emails and messenger files. It clearly shows the Service Consultant and Specialist at fault, because the SME and the PE were both led to believe it was okay to disconnect the client. So yesterday, the PE disconnected them. This morning, another PE had to turn the client back up, because the client wasn’t supposed to be down.

With the notes the PE took, I was able to formulate a proper response to upper management with proof that it wasn’t the PE’s fault. So the PE keeps his job or doesn’t get written up. Without those emails and messenger notes, I would have been dead in the water and the PE would probably be facing some harsh punishment.

So I say to all you programmers and engineers – take copious notes when you do something that impacts the client and you have a bad feeling about it. Because then we managers can step up and pull you out of the fire. I cannot stress how important it is to make that a part of your routine everyday.

If your strongest argument is you’re a great businessman, then you don’t need to be President.

Epecially if your hair is a comb-over. And you’re a mediocre gambler with real estate. And you’ve claimed bankruptcy … twice. And you have absolutely no idea what a President can do (hint – you can’t run around Congress telling people, “You’re fired.” ) And you obviously can’t tell fact from fiction, since Obama’s been proven to be a born US citizen.

To Sarah Palin:
If 90% of a state – even the Republicans – are pissed at the state’s governor and government, you don’t go there and say you’re proud of the governor and government. I don’t know who advises this woman, if anyone, but that was a really bad idea. Really bad. Like eating-glass bad (because eventually that “glass” will come back and shred your campaign from the inside out).

To Michelle Bachmann:
Hey, you know you probably should shut your pie hole when you start putting all non-Christians in the same bucket. Since you claimed once to be a Pagan. It even puts Christians off when you do that.

I guess I should say the Tea Party has truly gone astray. The so-called leaders of the Tea Party are total idiots and nutjobs. Thanks for helping the Democrats win 2012.

The Shoestring Society

My personal story of mice living in a world once populated by Humans, but Man is long gone. Follow the adventures of the Brotherhood as they struggle to ensure the survival of the Bastion colony against weather, predators and other dangers.

Child’s Play

A Quick Reminder that Child's Play begins every October. This charity raises funds for, and takes donations of, video games for children in hospitals.

I have participated every year since it's inception, and ask that you, too, give generously to bring a smile to the face or faces of children around the country and/or the globe.

You can make an impact.

WorldWork Games

WorldWork Games

For all your cardstock terrain and miniature needs. Run by Denny Unger in Canada and a team of willing modeling pros, WorldWork Games works hard to meet the requests of a growing and thriving fanbase. Join the forums today to be a part of the fun and action (NOTE: You don't have be a particular type of gamer - there's RPG, miniature and boardgamers galore)!
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